Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: 33. Lair Theme Park (4)
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“Everyone, assemble.”
At BM's words, the hulking figures sprawled on the floor hauled themselves up.
“Assemble! Assemble! You damn pigs...! Can't you hear the nurse telling you to assemble?!”
Bell Varian bellowed. At their captain's shout, the hulks sprang up more nimbly and lined up in front of BM.
Their gazes were distant and profound. The hulks grinned as they stared at the nurse. Behind him stood the ironclad armor. It gleamed like new, as if oiled with far better stuff than usual.
BM thought to himself. Nurse, huh. This wasn't some hospital playtime—what was with the nurse bit? He'd never once played along with their antics.
But today, he decided to humor them just once.
“Ironclad Armor, Armata... is being discharged today.”
In that instant, ripples spread across the chuckling faces.
The guardian standing behind BM performed a salute, and the paratroopers grabbed their heads and yelled.
“WHAAAAAT?!”
“HOOOOUULY SHIT!”
“SERIOUSLY?!?!”
The troopers were stunned.
They'd worked out together often. She'd wash their sweat-soaked clothes. Do the dishes. Handle the housework herself. A precious presence.
And now, the time had finally come for her to leave.
As they floundered in shock, the guardian stepped forward and saluted them again.
“It was a pleasure serving with you.”
A voice like scraping metal emanated from it.
“My lacking housekeeping skills have improved greatly. I've discovered the joy of dishwashing. And the happiness of laundry. All thanks to you.”
The troopers held back their responses.
Joy and sorrow began coexisting in their hearts.
In the silence, the guardian spoke once more.
“Cayman. You're a good man. A fifty-something bachelor who's short, but I know your character. You'll surely meet a fine woman.”
“Hey. Hey. Screw you, you full-plate tin can! I've got plenty of women who like me!”
Trooper Cayman laughed and flipped him off.
The guardian turned to another trooper.
“Santos. Ask the nurse to buy you some new underwear. Yours are in tatters.”
“Damn it. It's just that the package is impressive.”
“...Not from what I saw.”
Wahahaha! Laughter erupted. Someone smacked Santos's butt playfully.
“Judy. I'm amazed your husband is still alive.”
“What? Why! Damn it.”
“Don't you put him in a guillotine choke in your sleep?”
Kahahahaha! The massive female trooper roared with laughter. “That's why we sleep in separate rooms!” The troopers burst into guffaws, remembering the ironclad armor they'd seen crumpled up in the mornings.
Going through each of the thirty names one by one, offering backhanded compliments, the guardian finally called out to Captain Bell Varian.
“Bell. Be a good captain.”
“See you around, you damn hunk of metal.”
A tinge of regret seeped into the joy-filled emotions. It was the same for everyone there.
Bell thrust out a fist, and the guardian awkwardly extended his own to bump it. It was the paratroopers' greeting.
The last one remaining was Morning Star.
“Morning Star. You, in particular, hold a special place in my heart.”
“You did well. My fellow patient.”
“Thank you. You and I live to protect others. If something arises that needs protecting, protect it without fail.”
“You too.”
Morning Star approached and bumped fists with the guardian.
“Live happily.”
“Until we meet again.”
―Dragons are animals from imagination.
“...From imagination?”
―They fly through the sky. Breathe fire. Rawr!
“...!”
―Wanna come here? Want Big Sis to take you flying whoosh through the sky?
Nod!
As the costumed mascot worker lifted Winter and gave her airplane rides with whooshing sounds, Yoo Ji-tae shot a glance at Bom. Whenever he didn't know something, Bom usually did.
Bom whispered.
“She seems to be confusing the word 'dragon'.”
“Confusing it?”
“We told her early on that we're not humans, we're dragons, right? But Winter hasn't seen her own true form yet. She hasn't seen us release our polymorph either.”
So, she knew she was a dragon, but thought dragons were lifeforms that looked like humans.
“She's mixing up what the word 'dragon' means. In Winter's mind, dragons look like humans, like me or Summer. So when the mascot suddenly calls her a dragon...”
According to Bom, aside from the day she hatched, Winter had released her polymorph only once. And even that was just for a moment.
Come to think of it, unlike Bom, Summer, and Autumn—who had already passed ten years old before coming out to play—Winter had emerged still in her egg form.
To her, were dragons humans?
Even so, on a play day like today, it didn't seem right to poke at the child's worldview unnecessarily.
“We'll tell her when the chance comes.”
“Yeah.”
“Will she be surprised if we do?”
“...”
Bom pondered with a hum. Her spring-green eyes deepened as she gazed at Winter.
“Yeah... probably. If there's ever a day we release polymorph, she might be shocked seeing her own form. She's gotten so used to her human body. We've immersed ourselves so deeply in this playful life.”
“What do you mean by immersed in playful life?”
“Just... it feels like this is our real life. Not play.”
“...”
He took Bom's final words in stride. Winter was flailing happily in the dragon mascot's arms, reaching out toward Yoo Ji-tae.
Had she roughly understood the worker's words? On the way to the haunted house, Winter raised no further questions.
She thrilled at heights. Found speed exciting. Was interested in food. Liked water. Lately her interest had waned, but she'd once loved dolls like other kids her age. Despite being able to fly, she usually walked. And now she was nestled in Yoo Ji-tae's arms.
As he mulled it over, a sudden question arose in Yoo Ji-tae's mind.
If she saw 'dragon' as just one race among many, how did she classify him when she looked at him?
He decided to ask directly.
“Winter.”
“...?”
“Who am I?”
Winter tilted her head.
“...?”
“What am I? Who?”
“...Yoo... Ji-tae?”
“No, not that. What... am I?”
Yoo Ji-tae's question felt off somehow, so the child—who didn't understand—just grinned and tilted her head more.
Then Bom asked more directly.
“Winter. Is Uncle human or dragon?”
Winter nodded energetically, as if she got it.
She closed her mouth, thought for a bit, then answered hesitantly with an awkward smile.
“...Dragon?”
Complicated thoughts swirled, but he set them aside for now. They were at the theme park, and fun experiences mattered more for Winter.
Eerie entrance. Wall murals dripping blood-red. Below them, Dracula's maw yawned wide to greet them.
Entering the haunted house, he first learned something unexpected: Winter wasn't afraid of ghosts at all.
“Groooar...”
A man in realistic zombie makeup slammed against the safety bar, reaching out. Whenever that happened, Winter, passing nearby, ducked behind Yoo Ji-tae's leg.
A baby was still a baby. Until then, he'd thought she was scared, so the regressor comforted her while watching.
But Winter had just shied away because the stranger was unfamiliar—not because she feared ghosts or zombies.
“Kreeeek! Cawww!”
Once ghosts and zombies became familiar, she merely glanced like a cow eyeing a chicken.
“Heart...! Give me your heart...! Heh heh heh!”
A maiden ghost lunged out beyond the safety bar toward Yoo Ji-tae.
But Yoo Ji-tae, Bom, and Winter didn't flinch.
“...”
As the ghost awkwardly tried to retreat in embarrassment, Winter reached out and grabbed the maiden ghost's wrist.
“Huh? Wh-what?!”
Still, she got paid, so she mustered nonexistent enthusiasm and acted.
“You'll give me your heart, right?”
The baby showed no surprise.
Veteran ghost actor of three years. Flustered by the unforeseen reaction, she decided to amp up the threat, shoving blood-smeared hands right in Winter's face.
Then Winter looked at the ghost with pitying eyes.
“...It hurts?”
What? My hands?
The child grasped the ghost's hand with her tiny one. The actor panicked. Water-attribute mana flowed gently, enveloping the maiden ghost's hands.
“Uh...?”
The actor stared in shock at her suddenly pristine hands.
In the end, the haunted house was a total flop.
The Yoo family rode a few more attractions, snapping photos.
Click! Winter held cotton candy in both hands.
Click! Bom hugged Winter in front of the carousel.
Evening had arrived before they knew it. Time to head back.
One last stop somewhere would be nice. What would Winter like most at the theme park?
Even asking directly, Winter just shook her head without answering.
So the regressor opened Messenger and texted Autumn.
If one experience lingered forever in memory, was there reason to repeat it?
He'd often pondered this watching Autumn order chicken.
But Bom shook her head at his question.
“Every experience is different. Even the same chicken tastes different depending on the weather, mood, or how you eat it—each time is a new experience in its own way.”
So he asked Autumn.
I know that.
Gate 3?
Not a ride. Not a viewing spot. A back gate?
Even so, he quietly followed Autumn's advice, leading the kids there.
If the main entrance evoked dreams and fantasy like a typical theme park, Gate 3 resembled a castle gate from afar.
Nothing special, yet Yoo Ji-tae soon understood Autumn's words.
There,
staff in medieval plate armor costumes bowed their heads to departing guests.
Helmets covering from feet to head.
Uncannily resembling someone.
“...”
Winter stared blankly at the armors from Yoo Ji-tae's arms.
Autumn said Winter came here every single time.
...She hated being around him so much back then.
Winter must miss the guardian.
On the way home.
Winter, who had been thrilled nonstop since entering the park, had returned to her usual calm expression.
The guardian who vanished one day. She only knew he was sick and under treatment.
“Miss the cleaning ajusshi?”
She nodded slowly, resting her head on his chest, gazing at distant mountains with a dazed look.
Unaware of the surprise waiting at home.
When they arrived home,
a massive ironclad armor stood in the living room.
Creaaak... Metal groaned.
“Huh?”
Bom's surprised voice sounded.
Winter's hazy gaze focused sharply.
“...?”
Spotting the guardian, Winter blinked.
Then her eyes widened huge as she looked up at Yoo Ji-tae, face asking how and when.
“Miss! Long time no see.”
“Cleaning ajusshi? Feeling all better?”
“Indeed! Perfectly healthy now!”
Bom chatted happily with the guardian.
The guardian saluted Yoo Ji-tae in greeting, then approached Winter last.
“And how have you been, little miss?”
Imagining a heartfelt embrace of reunion, the guardian spread his arms. But Winter slyly dodged the hug and scampered away. Come to think of it, the guardian himself had rarely hugged her.
Suddenly a bit miffed, the guardian retracted his arms. Still, he decided to follow protocol silently. He knelt before Winter and bowed his head.
Then something amazing happened.
“...”
Winter approached with a smiling face and gently patted the guardian's helmet.
“Little miss...!”
Overjoyed, the guardian tried hugging again, but Winter slipped away once more.
The guardian felt a little hurt.